Sunken Patio Offers Privacy

The Yates Project was located on a busy golf course. The homeowner was looking forward to more time at home and wanted a space that could provide some privacy.
They wanted the project to have a very contemporary clean feel with stainless steel accents to match some of the interior décor of the home. A terraced living space would need to be designed that would frame and enhance the beautiful views
out onto the golf course’s lake from the upper level. While a lower sunken patio level would offer a space for private entertaining and to enjoy the outdoors.

Plan

The project had existing materials - pavers and wood deck - that were in disrepair and needed to be removed, but two large locust trees were to remain with the space designed around them. A retaining wall would be needed to create the sunken private patio, but
also to create the large raised patio area to replace the existing structure. The retaining wall product that was chosen was the Allan Block Lite Stone as the homeowner liked that low profile style and
feel of the blocks. To accent the retaining wall product, a silver premium select grade travertine was then used to finish off the top of the walls and for the patio and stair surfaces.

Design

Custom Sunken Patio

One of the many items that was on the homeowners must have list was that they did not want a deck leading out of the upper kitchen door. It needed to be
travertine to match the rest of the patio surfaces. Below the kitchen door on the basement level there is an existing window and this portion of the basement was also stick
framed so we could not backfill against the house. The upper patio leading out of the house would need to be built on a reinforced timber deck substructure
with a silica decking system to allow installation of the travertine on the structure.

Build

Construction took about 4 months to complete. With excavation done a large curved Allan Block retaining wall was built that wrapped around and concealed the decking system.
To keep the gravel backfill away from the foundation another AB wall was built inside the radius wall creating a large window well to protect the house from any potential water damage.
The stairway from the upper to lower patio as well as the outer retaining walls were then constructed to create the sunken patio area. The stainless steel accents on the wall and the
stainless steel bar were custom designed and locally fabricated. The patio was also surrounded by natural gas lanterns to create a unique look at night. Behind the bar and grill area there is
a 60” LED flat screen TV that comes up out of the ground and is all controlled by remote. On the upper patio area there
is a large natural gas fire pit. This area provides a great view out onto the lake and is private because all of the golfers are done for
the day when they are using the firepit at night.

The homeowner loves how his outdoor living space turned out and all he wants to do is to have everyone over so they could enjoy the space and he can use his new grill.